UAB Synopsis, Vol. 24, No. 1, January 17, 2005
Anatomical Donor Program
UAB's Anatomical Donor Program (total-willed-body donation) allows individuals to arrange posthumous donation of their bodies for anatomical study, enabling health professionals to advance their knowledge of medicine. "We receive approximately 100 donors a year serving some 550 students annually," says Anatomical Donor Program and Gross Laboratory Director Richard Shane Tubbs, MS, PA-C, PhD. "Those utilizing donor bodies include medical, dental, optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, surgeons' assistant, and nurse anesthetist students."
In addition, bodies may occasionally be used for educational seminars and testing therapeutic and surgical techniques by practicing physicians and surgeons.
To become a registered total-willed-body donor, one must complete the necessary paperwork and be at least aged 18 and of sound mind. The required $750 fee may be prepaid at the time of registration or paid within 90 days after death. This fee covers transportation from the death site within a 35-mile radius of Birmingham, anatomical embalming, and maintenance and cremation of the body. Potential donors are advised to discuss their decision with family members to ensure their wishes are honored and to carry an anatomical donor card at all times.
After the body is embalmed using a special procedure that prepares it for long-term study, the university may hold it for up to a year. Program staff then cremate it in an on-site dedicated facility, and the ashes are returned to the family, if requested, or interred in UAB's Meditation Garden at Cook Springs.
For safety reasons, preregistered donor bodies with a diagnosis of infectious disease, such as HIV or hepatitis, are accepted but cremated upon receipt. Preregistered bodies that are morbidly obese, severely injured or mangled due to trauma, or those who have had vital organs removed for transplantation are not used for anatomical study and will be cremated.
"Students hold a Service of Gratitude for donors from the previous year. This service takes place in late February and is attended by family and friends, providing a sense of closure," Dr. Tubbs adds.
To prevent illegal trade or sale of donor parts, as occurred at the University of California in Los Angeles and in Galveston, Texas, and led to suspension of its willed body programs, UAB has security measures in place. "All students, faculty, and staff have keycards they must swipe to gain laboratory access. This enables us to know who is in the lab at all times, since it has 24-hour access," Dr. Tubbs explains.
In addition, the laboratory has security cameras and Volker Hall security staff regularly patrol the building. There is also heightened awareness among faculty members.
Dr. Tubbs notes the transport team that moves donors from the death site to the university receives a thorough background check.
Program Administrator Ann Harrell is available 24 hours a day and maintains contact with interested parties after completion of paperwork. If donors change their minds or move from the area, they should notify the office in writing; their names are then removed from the database and prepayment is refunded.
Those interested in donatiion of their bodies for anatomical study may contact the Anatomical Donor Program at 205-934-4494 for information, or visit www.uab.edu and type "anatomical donor program" in the search box. Necessary forms and anatomical donor cards are available on the site.
Additional programs of interest
Alabama Organ and Tissue Bank for transplantation purposes and the Gift of Body Program for research endeavors. Telephone: 205-731-9200.
Brain Resource Program for those suffering from Alzheimer, Parkinson, and Huntington Chorea diseases. Telephone: 205-934-4476 or 934-0946.
Anatomical Gifts Program at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Telephone: 251-460-6764.